Construction elements



y 1961 s. OLIVER 2,983,071

CONSTRUCTION ELEMENTS Filed Jan. 13, 1959 INVENTOR. STEWART OL/l/ER ATTORNE Y United States Patent CONSTRUCTION ELEMENTS Stewart Oliver, RD.3, Rte. 31, Elizabeth, Pa.

Filed Jan. 13, 1959, Ser. No. 786,604

1 Claim. (Cl. 46-49) This invention relates to improvements in toys andmore particularly to improvements in construction toys for use in theerection of toy buildings, bridges, towers, and the like.

The primary object of the invention is to provide improved forms of toybuilding elements which are adapted to be joined together with otherelements and held in position by magnetic attract-ion to form thevarious structures as required by the toy being constructed.

Another object of the invention is to provide toy building elementswhich when assembled with other elements are capable of building variousstructures the parts of which will be held together in such a manner asto provide a simple, strong and durable construction which will bereliable in operation and not readily disassembled by jarring orotherwise.

Still another object of this invention is to provide structural elementwhich when assembled will simulate in appearance the elements'used inthe construction of actual buildings.

A still further object of the invention is to provide elements providedwith magnetic means whereby to attract and hold the various otherelements in selected relation as required by the toy being assembled.

These and other objects of my invention will appear from the followingdescription taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of girder elements associated in an assembledrelation with parts of the girder element broken away;

Fig. 2 is a view in perspective of the connector element;- a

Fig. 3 is a view in side elevation of the connector element shown inFig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a section on the lines 4-4 of Fig. 1.

Referring specifically to the drawings in which like numerals are usedto indicate similar parts throughout the various views, the toy buildingelements shown in the drawings and from which various models andstructures may be erected comprise a plurality of girder elements 6which may be made of a relatively thin strip of metal, plastic, or othersuitable material. The girder elements are provided with a plurality oftriangularly shaped perforations 7, spaced apart lengthwise of the stripand simulating the actual girder construction used in normal buildingpractice.

The girder elements 6 are further provided with metallic end members 8which are capable of being attracted magnetically and which are providedwith a plurality of spaced apertures or through openings 9.

The connector elements or plates generally indicated at 10 comprise ashaped blank of permanently magnetized material provided with anenlarged central portion 11 and terminating in reduced end portions 12.The magnetic connector element 10 is further provided with a pluralityof upstanding pins or studs 13 on one face thereof, and on its oppositeface it is provided with a pair of upstanding pins or studs 14.Therefore, it is a relatively simple matter to assemble the girderelements and the connections in a variety of desired arrangements.

This is done by taking a girder element and aligning the openings in theend theerof with the upstanding pins or studs on the connector plate.The girder is then moved into position in close contact with theconnector whereby magnetic attraction is set up between the girder andthe plate to elfect the desired connection of the respective parts.

It will thus be seen that in this arrangement is accomplished both amechanical and magnetic coupling between the respective parts. Thisprocedure is repeated with the various other parts to produce theparticular structure desired.

The connector plate 10- at its enlarged central portion 11 is providedon its reverse side with studs extending from each enlarged portion. Thegirder end elements mounted on the rear side of the connector plate arecapable of attachment by the stud provided in the enlarged centralportion of the connector element, extending through either of theopenings provided in the girder end. When it is so desired only one ofthe openings in the girder element need be engaged with a correspondingstud on the front side of the connector plate.

Thus it will be seen with a construction toy of this type that varioustype connectors may be made to permit the assembly of dilferent types ofstructures.

It is not intended that the invention be limited to the constructionshown in the drawings but is capable of variation and modificationswithin the scope of the following claim.

I claim:

In a structural toy including a plurality of simulated structural girderelements and girder connector plates, the combination comprising asubstantially rectangular connector plate formed of permanentlymagnetized material and provided with an enlarged central portion, apair of upstanding pins positioned in spaced relation on one face ofsaid connector plate adjacent one end thereof and a second pair ofupstanding pins positioned on the same face of said connector plateadjacent the opposite end thereof, a pair of upstanding pins on theopposite face of said connector plate, each pin of said pair on saidopposite face of said connector plate positioned respectively on eachoutwardly extended portion of said enlarged central portion, girderelements including an elongated body portion and an end member, said endmembers each being formed of a magnetically attractive material, andmeans defining a plurality of openings in each girder end member adaptedto receive selected upstanding pins on said connector plate therethroughwhereby to align said girder with said connector plate and tomagnetically secure said girder to said connector plate in said alignedposition.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,433,273 Graves Oct. 24, 1922 FOREIGN PATENTS 3,646 Great Britain 191320,642 Denmark Oct. 1, 1915 914,352 France June 17, 1946 Patented May 9,1961

